Story Behind the Song: Brett Eldredge, ‘Gabrielle’

The song "Gabrielle" kicks off a new chapter for Brett Eldredge. His first single from his fifth studio album, Sunday Drive, the piano-driven, folk-influenced track finds the singer reflecting back on "a love that didn't quite work out," wondering what could have been.

"It could’ve ended up being something amazing," Eldredge says the sort of relationships that inspired the track, "and you wonder what they’re doing in their life right now and go back to those feelings when you hear the song."

Eldredge co-wrote "Gabrielle" with Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, the producers of Kacey Musgraves' acclaimed, Grammy-winning album Golden Hour, and worked closely with the pair for the rest of his Sunday Drive album. Below, Eldredge shares the story behind the song, in his own words.

I mean it's, it's honestly more about -- yeah, it is a real story. It's more about -- it's kind of a breakup song, but with the bittersweet, kind-of happy, wishing the other person well within their life, wherever they are, but you still kind of look back and wonder, you know, at a certain point in your life, or often, what that person's up to and where they are now, and what it could have been and what if, you know? It's one of those kinds of songs, and the nostalgia of that.

And so, I'm not saying whether or not it's -- whether the person's name actually is Gabrielle, but it is about a real situation in my life. Yeah, absolutely ...

The intro of that song is straight piano, and the piano is a very common throughout the whole record, this upright piano we found. The first song we recorded was "Gabrielle," and this piano is an old like piano from a high school somewhere -- a music school back 100 years ago, whatever it was -- and it just had this sound, and it became this thing.

And I think the fact that that comes in at the top, and that this song has this kind of deeper message of hope, and also just letting things be what they are in life and being grateful for the relationships that you have had, even if they aren't there anymore, and the bittersweetness of that, but also wishing that person well, and that there's no bad feelings on that front -- I think that was a strong message.

And then that along with just the catchy nature of it, and the kind of nostalgic, "feels like you've heard it and this feels like it's a part of you" [vibe], and the guitars and the chorus responding to Gabrielle, it's so unique, and I just think it's a good introduction to what this album holds.